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Old 01-01-12, 10:53 PM   #1
nofearengineer
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Default It Can Happen To Anybody!!

When I arrived at Dale Hollow yesterday morning, my guide was there at the dock, and he looked a little weary. He said "I've got a story to tell you, but believe me when I say we need to run into town for a bit to get some breakfast."

I played along, and while we drove he explained what had happened to him that morning. It made sense him wanting some hot coffee and food.

He had been warming the boat up for the trip at about 5:00 AM, so he had it nosed into its slip. He put it in neutral, and set the rpms up a bit to 2000. He got off the boat to get some stuff, when he heard a "thunk". It was the boat slipping into reverse all on its own. (He had the lower unit replaced a week ago, so it was probably some small misadjustment in the linkage.)

The boat took off backwards, and he tried to stop it. He grabbed his bow railing but the motor was too much. It pulled him over the dock railing, and into the 49 degree water. He tried to work his way around the boat, but the water was pushing him back towards the bow. The boat was heading across the lake, and started to turn in backwards circles, so he really couldn't let go without the risk of the boat running over him.

It was pitch black and he yelled for help over and over again. He was in the water for a good while until a couple of bass fishermen he knows saw his boat and noticed nobody was in it. Then they heard him yelling. They eventually got next to it and one of them jumped in and shut it off.

Needless to say, my guide was pretty frozen and banged up, but he is lucky to be alive. If the forecast for yesterday had not been so nice, there might not have been any other fisherman there at that time to save his life.

The lesson here is it can happen to anyone, even an experienced professional fisherman. Complacency happens to all of us, especially at 5 in the morning, when we're tired, and we're doing the same thing we've done a thousand times before.

Wear your PFD's and kill switches! Don't fish alone in freezing water!

Since Dave's boat doesn't have a kill switch, I told him about the electronic tethers the saltwater guys use. I hope he gets one. He's a great guy who spends a lot of time on the water, and I'd hate to find out one day he drowned.

Lecture over.
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Old 01-01-12, 11:11 PM   #2
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DAMNIT!!! sorry for the outburst bryce, but this is jsut another reminder of what can and DOES happen. THANK YOU for posting this story. gald he is ok, shaken but ok. hopefully he learned his lesson and is getting a kill switch or the tethers you mentioned.


and LECTURE ON brother bryce!
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Old 01-01-12, 11:23 PM   #3
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Glad he is OK, seems strange that he would have gotten out of his boat and walked away without at least having it tied to the dock.
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Old 01-02-12, 12:02 AM   #4
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Complacency describes it very well.

No matter what you do, never let your guard down.

I'm glad to hear that Dave is alright.


-Mark

Last edited by woody; 01-02-12 at 10:23 AM.
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Old 01-02-12, 10:05 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tavery5 View Post
Glad he is OK, seems strange that he would have gotten out of his boat and walked away without at least having it tied to the dock.
I'm with you on that one as well. The other, thing that doesn't make sense is if he could grab the front of the boat, why didn't he just try to jump into the boat?

I know that I will start-up my boat and let the motor warm up while I go park my trailer. At that point I don't have a kill switch or PFD on. I don't think that would have mattered much in his case.

Nofear, why would the boat go in reverse? Typically if he was going to "raise" the RPM's doesn't the throttle move forward? How would that make the boat go into reverse?

I'm glad that he was helped and survived, but just a weird situation.
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Old 01-02-12, 12:22 PM   #6
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I HATE to hear these stories, I always feel bad especially the ones that include loss of life.
nofear, thanks for sharing. Great reminder. Unfortunatly human nature usually makes us more complacent the more accustom to any activity we do. 40 plus degree water I'm greatful this one ends with a lesson for everyone and not loss of a friend!
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Old 01-02-12, 08:55 PM   #7
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It sounds like it was the perfect storm. So many strange things had to happen just right (or wrong) for this to happen as it did. The lower unit goes nuts just as he steps out of the boat, he didn't tie the boat off to the dock, and he was still close enough to grab ahold of the boat before it backed out of the slip. I have never heard of a lower unit throwing itself into reverse, that's a strange thing to have happen to say the least. As for him not tying the boat off to the dock, maybe he was getting out of the boat before tying it off??? I just can't imagine not tying the boat off to the dock before walking up to my truck, if for no other reason just to keep the boat from getting banged up on the dock.

Thank God that he was able to hold onto the boat while being dragged around in frigid water which I am sure zapped his strength and energy. Also thank God that there were some other anglers in the immediate area who were able to save him.
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Old 01-02-12, 09:10 PM   #8
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This wasn't a bass boat. It is a cabin-cruiser type boat with a high bow rail. It has an inboard-outboard with separate controls for throttle and FNR. I hope that clears it up.
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Old 01-03-12, 12:22 AM   #9
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If that don't make a fisherman or any other boater take note I don't know what will. Like mentioned before, your tired, done it a thousand times, why think this time will be different. There are many graves filled with folks with similar happenings. We all take too much for granted in our daily lives. Stories like this one searve as a reminder to use some degree of caution throughout the day.
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Old 01-03-12, 08:22 PM   #10
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I'm glad that he is ok. These stories always need to be retold. Its what makes fishermen vigilant.

A few years ago, I heard a story where a fisherman and his son were fishing, despite close lightning. The son was struck, and his head apparently came apart. I almost didnt retell for the gruesomeness of it, for respect, but if such horrid things are going to happen, we should make as good a use as possible as stories to keep in mind next time you are fishing an icy lake, or near a thunderstorm, or on a bright, sunny, hot summer day where you decide to go shirtless.

So, use a kill switch. Get off the lake in lightning. And use sunscreen or wear protective clothing. This is actually one of the more dangerous, more extreme sports out there.
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Old 01-04-12, 03:40 AM   #11
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As we used to say in Iraq COMPLACENCY KILLS, STAY ALERT STAY ALIVE. carroll out.
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Old 01-04-12, 08:50 AM   #12
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carroll. I don't think I welcomed you to the forum, so welcome to the forum.
While I'm at it, thank you for your service!
STAY ALERT STAY ALIVE pretty much sums it up, thanks again.
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